LOCAL NEWS:
Montrose County commissioners are nearing a decision on new zoning rules that could open the door to utility-scale solar power projects, and decide rules for where natural medicine and massage business can be located. After years of stakeholder input, the proposal includes standards for solar siting and setbacks, along with rules for massage and natural medicine businesses. Most public comment in last Thursday’s Board of County Commissioners Meeting focused on solar, with residents urging approval of the compromise-driven plan. Supporters called it a responsible path to boost rural economies and keep farmland in production. Commissioners delayed a vote until June 4 to allow more discussion on setbacks and local impacts. KVNF will keep following this issue and keep you informed.
FEATURE 1:
Today we're featuring a piece from Rocky Mountain PBS about the Paonia Food Movement.
Sarah Peterson runs Paonia Food Movement, a fresh food delivery service connecting North Fork Valley farmers with customers in the Roaring Fork Valley. Each week, she gathers organic produce, meat, dairy, and baked goods from farms near Paonia and delivers them to pickup spots across McClure Pass. The flexible model allows people to order as needed, unlike traditional CSA subscriptions. Since launching last August, Peterson has written $40,000 in checks to local farmers. Her service supports small producers like Mountain Bird and Fire Mountain Ranch and helps bridge economic gaps between Delta County and wealthier areas like Aspen. Many products, like leafy greens, are harvested just a day before delivery. Peterson recently upgraded from her old pickup to a refrigerated truck to handle summer’s bounty of fruits. Her goal is to keep local food moving year-round — and show that even in Colorado, eating local is not only possible, but practical. For Rocky Mountain PBS, Joshua Vorse reports.
FEATURE 2: The Planet V Festival in Nautrita is this weekend. PlanetV began in 2020 as an impromptu gathering with 75 friends who wanted to connect during COVID and has grown to an independent three day festival featuring top musical acts, workshops and community. It's all with a burning man-esque feel. Gavin McGough reports for KVNF.
The town of Vancorum, CO was known as Snob Hill back in the 1940s when it was first built on a bluff just west of Naturita. It housed the engineers who oversaw the nearby Uranium mines which powered the Manhattan Project.
Long abandoned, the town is experiencing a second life as ‘CampV,’ a hotel and glamping site which hosts its signature gathering PlanetV Festival over Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-26.
For KVNF, Gavin McGough spoke with the owner of CampV, Natalie Binder, about the festival. Their conversation has been edited for clarity.
Natalie Binder: Our mission is really to bring people together, and it's to bring people specifically to this rural community, to support this community and to bring art to our community.
And so, that aspect hasn't changed, but the festival has grown. It's just grown up and it's produced by a really professional group of people that have a lot of experience in music and production. And so we feel really grateful and lucky that we've been able to attract not only world class talent, but also world class folks with a lot of festival and event experience that help us make this possible.
Gavin McGough: As I understand it started in the pandemic as a way to gather people outdoors. Tell us a bit more about what the festival was like in those early days and how it's evolved.
NB: You know, in the beginning it really had much more of that ‘Burning Man’ feel where we didn't program or plan anything specific with the schedule and whatnot. It was really like: show up, bring what you need. And [it was] very impromptu in terms of folks saying: ‘I'm gonna play some music tonight,’ or ‘I'm gonna create this art installation.’
As it’s evolved and it grown there's now scheduling and there's much more programming. And so it's offering everything from wellness to unique workshops, to art workshops, to a kids zone and kids programming. And then of course, this world class music.
GM: How does this place, this community, its history connect to the mission of the festival and the mission of CampV?
NB: We believe that rural communities deserve access to world class art just as more urban areas do. And having grown up in a rural community [myself], I realized that was one thing I didn't have much exposure and access to. At PlanetV we want to ensure that anyone from this local West End community has the ability to participate. And so we have the ability for them to volunteer or to purchase a reduced ticket.
And for the locals that do attend it's been really fun to see their reaction. [What the festival offers,] it's certainly something that they may have never seen before. Certainly they've never seen in their community. There's sort of a sense of wonderment and curiosity that's just been really fun and fulfilling [to witness].
GM: You recently announced that next year you and your team are taking a year off from producing PlanetV. Why take that pause now.
NB: Over the years we've evolved, but more importantly the world has evolved and the world has changed and we've seen where there might be a lack of resources or gaps in these rural communities and we really want to find a way to help bridge those gaps. I think gatherings can be really important as a sort of ‘think-tank’ to come together and figure out ways to do that.
GM: Well, we can't wait to see what happens next. Thank you Natalie.
NB: Yeah, thank you. We hope to see you, and the local community, and our broader community over Memorial Day, and folks can find more information at planetvfest.com or on our website at campv.com.
